On May 28, 2013, the Village Council adopted legislation amending previous legislation governing sidewalk construction and maintenance within the Village of Bluffton. After much debate and discussion, the Village Council determined that having safe, well constructed and maintained sidewalks in residential areas of the Village will enhance safety, provide for unobstructed pedestrian traffic and contribute to a better overall quality of life for residents of the Village. A copy of the legislation is available below. Additionally, a compilation of Frequently Asked Questions is provided.

Billings:

The Village bills monthly for water, sewer, garbage, and recycling based on actual readings. Estimate readings are only done when weather prevents an actual reading from taking place. All payments must be received in the Utility office by 4:00 pm. on the 10th of every month. Any payments received after 4:00 p.m. on the 10th will be assessed a late fee.PLEASE NOTE: If the 10th falls on a weekend, payments are still due on the 10th of the month. Any payment received on the Monday following the 10th will be considered late. Accounts that are 30 days delinquent are subject to having their water service shut off until the account is current. Accounts that are shut off will be assessed a $50 turn on fee to have water service restored. Adjustments for water leaks can be requested once per a twelve (12) month period. Residents are encouraged to obtain a water meter if filling a pool, as no adjustment will be given for this purpose. The adjustment will be based on the average usage and will only be applied to the sewer portion of the bill.

Payment Options:

Payments can be made by mail (PO Box 63), in person at the Village offices, or in the drop box located in the lobby of Town Hall. The lobby is open 24 hours a day. Cash, checks, or money orders are accepted. Please note that credit cards are NOT accepted at the Village offices. Credit card payments can be made on-line through OfficialPayments.com or by calling 1-800-2PAY-TAX (1-800-272-9829). A processing fee will be charged by Official Payments for both options.

Electric Aggregation FAQ

Electrical Aggregation Q and A

The Village of Bluffton’s voters passed the governmental aggregation issue on the March 2012 Ballot. The Village has elected to join the government electrical aggregation program managed by the County Commissioners Association of Ohio and officially named the Allen County Commissioners as the aggregators on behalf of the Village of Bluffton in order to do so. This allows the Village to benefit from economies of scale- instead of a supplier bidding on the Village of Bluffton customers only, suppliers are bidding on a pool of customers that includes 40+ counties in the State of Ohio.

Q: Who is eligible to participate in the aggregation program?

A: Any eligible Village residence or small business within the Village of Bluffton. A “small business” is defined as one using 700,000 kwh per year or less. Customers of a co-op are not eligible to participate.

Q: What is the contracted rate?

A: The current contracted rate for electrical generation is $0.0585 per kwh. The electric bill is split between generation and transmission/distribution. The aggregation program only deals with the generation portion of the bill.

Q: Who is the supplier? Who do I call if I have a service problem, or if the

power is out?

A: The supplier that won the contract through the County Commissioners Association of Ohio is First Energy Solutions based out of Akron Ohio that currently operates in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia and Maryland.

If you have service problems, you will still call AEP.

Q: I am currently on a budget plan with AEP- will that continue?

A: The budget plan will continue on the transmission/distribution portion of the bill. The generation portion is not able to be set up on a budget plan. Customers will pay for the usage on the generation portion based on the actual monthly usage.

Q: Who will the post card to opt-out come from and when should I expect to

receive it?

A: The opt-out post card will be sent by First Energy Solutions, the supplier that is contracted with through the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. Customers should begin receiving the post cards in about thirty (30) days. If you want to opt out of the program, simply complete and return the card. If you want to participate, you do not need to do anything.

Q: I already signed a contract with another company- can I still participate?

A: If you are currently under contract from another supplier, you will not receive an opt-out post card from First Energy Solutions. If you would like to participate, the Village will be provided contact information for First Energy Solutions. If you are under contract with another provider, you are encouraged to review the terms of the contract- specifically early termination fees- and decide if it is feasible to switch to the Village’s aggregation program.

Q: I already signed a contract with First Energy- can I switch to the aggregation

program?

A: If you are already under contract with First Energy Solutions, you will be permitted to switch to the Village’s aggregation program at no cost.

Q: If I choose to opt out now, but decide later that I want to participate, can I?

A: Eligible customers can enter the program at no charge at any time.

Garbage and Recycling

Garbage and Recycling Collection:

The Village contracts with Republic Services for garbage and recycling collection. All items for collection should be at the curb by 5am on the day of your scheduled collection. Garbage and recycling are picked up the same day, but by two different trucks. Items Allied will accept for recycling are listed below. If you have a large item, or items, for collection or questions as to why your garbage was not picked up, please called Allied directly at 1-800-491-1115. Street Side Recycling Pick Up Items:

#1, #2, #3, #4, and #5 plastic food and beverage containers

Newspapers (including inserts) and computer paper - products should be placed in a bag to keep them from blowing

Tin, steel and aluminum food and beverage containers

Cardboard and corrugated boxes

Magazines, catalogs, and bound books

Glass from food or beverage containers

Holiday scheduling results in trash being collected one day later than the normal pick up.

Memorial Day, - collection one day later this week
July 4th - collection one day later this week
Labor Day - collection one day later this week
Thanksgiving - Friday collection will be on Saturday
Christmas - collection one day later this week
New Years Day - collection one day later this week

Refuse Guidelines

MATERIALS NOT COLLECTED

NO HAZARDOUS OR TOXIC WASTES
NO ASBESTOS OR MATERIAL CONTAINING ASBESTOS
NO LEAD ACID BATTERIES, OIL OR AUTO PARTS
NO INFECTIOUS OR BIOHAZARDOUS WASTE
NO STEEL DRUMS
NO ASHES
NO LARGE DEAD ANIMALS
NO LIQUIDS
NO TIRES
NO APPLIANCES CONTAINING CFC’s (FREON)

Recycling Guidelines

Republic Services will be providing you a 65-gallon recycling container to place and store your recyclables for collection day. Set your recycling material at the curb, next to your trash on the regular collection day in your area. It is only necessary to place your recyclables out at the curb when your container is full. Many times, this can be done “every-other” week.

Follow These Simple Steps

Collect your GLASS, PLASTIC & METAL recyclables and place them together in your bin.

GLASS

All food and beverage containers made of glass can be recycled, regardless of color. Simply remove the cap, rinse them and place in the bin. No need to remove labels. Please, no herbicide or pesticide containers, window glass, light bulbs, mirrors or ceramics.

PLASTIC

All Food and Beverage containers and other plastics with the #1 thru #7 printed on the bottom can be recycled. Again, please rinse and place in your bin. Motor oil, antifreeze, pesticide and herbicide containers should be placed in your trash when empty.

ALUMINUM AND STEEL CANS

Rinse all metal food and beverage containers and place them in your bin. Removing labels is not required. For added space in your cart, consider cutting tops and bottoms out and flattening the cans.

MILK & FOOD CARTONS

These cartons usually contain milk, cream, and a variety of food items. Rinse all coated cartons and place in recycle bin.

NEWSPAPER AND OLD CORRUGATED CONTAINERS (OCC)

Newspapers should be placed in brown paper bags to contain them from blowing on collection day. Old corrugated containers (OCC) should be cut down to fit in the container. If you’re placing it outside the container, after cutting it down into squares, secure with a string or masking tape. OCC or cardboard that is lined with foil, plastic, wax coated, soiled or wet should be included with the trash as these types of materials will contaminate the good paper products. Other items that should be excluded from your recyclables are food service paper and cups plates.

Brush Dump:

The Village provides a brush dump for all residents of the Village, located on Spring Street between the Village maintenance department and the Sportsmen's Club. Yard waste is then mulched for residents use. Residents may come get the mulch as it is available.